Diligent Board Member Services sees major growth opportunities in Europe where companies haven’t jumped on to the Boardbooks bandwagon, but still hasn’t decided what to do with its growing pile of cash. The New York-based firm, whose software helps company directors manage corporate governance information flows, lifted sales 84 percent to US$15.1 million in the three months ended March 31, …

The New Zealand dollar extended its slide, falling below 84 US cents as financial markets digested the implications of weaker-than-expected Chinese growth which has weighed on equity markets and commodities. The kiwi dollar fell to 83.91 US cents from 85.05 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.27 from 78.16. China’s economic growth slowed to 7.7 …

Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic slumped along with commodities, as disappointing data from China, the world’s second-largest economy, sparked concern about the pace of global growth. China’s gross domestic product increased 7.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing. That’s down from 7.9 percent in the previous …